Terminal emulators for windows 

Terminal emulators for windows  is a multi-tabbed terminal emulator that Microsoft has developed for Windows 10 and later as a replacement for Windows Console. It can run any command-line app in a separate tab.

Here are some popular terminal emulators for Windows:

1. ConEmu console
2. Cmder
3. Hyper – a cross-platform
4. Terminus – an open source windows
5. MobaXterm for remote computing
6. KiTTY

The most popular Terminal emulators for windows

#1. The first Terminal emulators is ConEmu console 

• ConEmu is an open-source tabbed console emulator distinctively developed for Windows. A customizable terminal emulator that supports multiple tabs, split panes, and a variety of shells. It is popular among developers because it allows for extensive customizations such as hotkeys, custom color palettes, and an auto-hideable mode.

#2. The second Terminal emulators is Cmder

• A portable console emulator that includes multiple shells and a user-friendly interface.According to the program’s official website, it evolved “out of pure frustration,” citing the lack of market options. The app is built in C++ and Powershell. The free and open source software is built on popular console emulator – ConEMu.

#3.  The third figure is Hyper – a cross-platform 

• An Electron-based terminal emulator that supports plugins and customizability. Programmers can use Hyper to connect to many systems via SSH and dial-up modem. Most developers use the software to connect to other computers via dial-up. Furthermore, it is utilized for the transfer data between networks such as host and remote servers.

 #4. Next, Terminus – an open source windows 

• Terminus is free, open source software that may run on a variety of operating systems, including Windows. A cross-platform terminal emulator that supports tabs, panes, and themes. Furthermore, it provides a plethora of configuration options, such as themes and fonts, to meet the needs of developers. Users must, however, manually disable ligature support in the settings.

#5. The fifth is MobaXterm for remote computing

• MobaXterm is a great all-in-one remote computing program. It is the ultimate toolkit, with numerous networks and a superior many tools in a single window. A remote computing toolbox that includes a terminal emulator, SSH client, X11 server, and more.  The home editions are free, whereas the professional edition costs $69 per user. The commercial version allows you to create an infinite number of sessions, tunnels, and macros. Furthermore, it offers more customization than the basic edition

#6. Finally, Terminal emulators for windows is KiTTY 

• A fork of PuTTY that adds features like session filters, scriptable macros, and more. As a result, switching to KiTTY is simple for programmers because it has the same UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) as PuTTY. The application is solely programmed from Windows operating system. However, users can access Linux, and Unix machines. KiTTY is a better adaptation of PuTTY as it offers features that the famous terminal emulator PuTTY lacks.

Terminal emulators’s Advantages and Disadvantages

#1. ConEmu console: 

• Pros:
  • It is free, open-source and actively developed.
  • It integrates with Explorer.
  • Fully compatible with PuTTY, Cygwin, CMD and PowerShell.
  • Multiple tab support – Users can have many shells and numerous instances of the same shell open simultaneously.
  • Easy to customize most of the settings such as shortcuts, fonts, background image, and colors.
  • The tool supports dynamic window resizing.
  • It offers multiple tabs for consoles, viewers, panels, and editors.
  • GUI applications can run on a ConEmu tab.
  • ConEmu comes with in-built screenshot feature.

• Cons: 
  • The tool doesn’t include shell features such as tab completion and remote connections.
  • Poor scrolling support – Scrolling navigates to blank space instead of text content.
  • Unattractive default look.

#2. Cmder:

• Pros:
  • The portable version of the software allows programmers to run the emulator from a USB drive or Cloud without installing.
  • Monokai color scheme – Cmder makes its appearance better than ConEmu by leveraging Monokai color scheme that allows customizable colors and transparency schemes.
  • ConEmu coordinates perfectly with command line applications such as MinTTY, CMD and Powershell.
  • Smoothly and efficiently works with the VS Code terminal.

• Cons:
  • Cmder works slower than ConEmu.
  • Specific commands have problems with non-Unicode characters.
  • The portable version does not come with Unix commands; only the full version has that support.

#3. Hyper – a cross-platform:

• Pros:
  • The software is fully customizable.
  • Offers cross-platform and is made possible using Electron.

• Cons:
  • The software is unstable.
  • Electron uses a lot of resources.
  • Development activity is very slow.

#4. Terminus – an open source windows: 

• Pros:
  • It is an open-source and cross-platform software.
  • Fully customizable – it allows users to change color, window frame behavior, hotkeys, tab location, sie, and even cursor style.
  • It integrates with CMD, PowerShell, and WSL.
  • The software comes with several plugins.

• Cons:
  • The software occupies over 80MB of drive space and uses a lot of resources.
  • Programmers complain that some functions fail while running the software.

#5. MobaXterm for remote computing

• Pros:
  • Automatic SFTP – Users are not required to play around with multiple apps as it is an all-in-one network application. For example, when a user connects to a remote server using SSH, the SFPT browser will automatically open so that users can edit remote files.
  • It offers a password vault.
  • Built-in remote file editor – users can easily edit remote files through SSH and SFTP.
  • Integrates with WSL – It harmonizes perfectly with Windows Subsystem for Linux which is a compatible layer for running Linux binary files natively on Windows 10.
  • It integrates with PuTTY in Windows.

• Cons:
  • The software is not free and comes with an expensive price tag. It is worth for those that hope to use it professionally.
  • Tabbed-mode limitation – if a user splits the screen then they have to navigate to a single screen before switching tabs.

#6. KiTTY 

• Pros:
  • It is a cross-platform application.
  • KiTTY offers several additional features such as – Automatic login script, SSH Handler, Session Filter, alternative command-line options, instant begin a duplicate session and WinSCP integration.
  • Automatically reconnects used server upon restart.
  • Multiple session launcher functionalities – the software tiles them side by side.
  • Connect through Telnet and SSH
  • Leverages Unicode for character compatibility.
  • Stores login credentials.
  • Some of its graphical features include – icon for each session, send to tray and transparency.
  • Text editor and chat server integrated into the application.

• Cons:
  • No centralized configuration – While KiTTY provides the function to open multiple sessions simultaneously, the settings of each session is stored separately. So if a programmer wants to change the settings familiar to all sessions, then they have executed it independently for each session.

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